Celebrating preservation and transformation at Parkview Villa

About Parkview Villa

On July 19th we celebrated the grand opening of the newly renovated Parkview Villa in Columbia Heights – a 146-unit apartment complex primarily housing seniors. After seven months of construction, the residents were thrilled to celebrate their new home with a visit from Congressman Keith Ellison and Columbia Heights Mayor, Gary Peterson – who were both instrumental in the process of Aeon taking ownership of the property, improving its quality, and preserving its affordability.

Parkview was previously owned and managed by the City of Columbia Heights. City Officials selected Aeon because of our long standing commitment to affordable housing and our commitment to ensuring that Parkview Villa would continue to be a resource to the residents of Columbia Heights for generations to come.

This endeavor is a strong example of how public housing authorities and the non-profit sector can partner to preserve a critically important community asset. The majority of the apartment homes at Parkview Villa have rents set at one third of income – a near impossibility in any new construction today. Preservation is key to maintain the supply of deeply affordable apartment homes for those who need it most.

The grand opening celebration

Powerful messages were delivered by Congressman Ellison, Mayor Peterson, and Aeon President & CEO, Alan Arthur about the need to preserve affordable housing options in our community and the value of strategic partnerships, but none could speak to what that means to someone’s life better than current Parkview resident, Len Larson.

Len Larson’s story

Len Larson, a Parkview Villa resident, shares his story at the grand opening celebration.

Residents could relate to Len’s comments about how Aeon has directly impacted their lives. Len shared,

Aeon has not only addressed our need for affordability, but our need for being part of a community. Two of the biggest issues we face here are isolation and depression and I have now seen more of my neighbors leaving their apartments and interacting with each other.

Upgrades to the building not only addressed specific needs related to function, but included community spaces and amenities that allow for residents to spend time engaging with each other. A community room, fitness studio, salon, and comfortable seating areas have created space for residents to enjoy time outside of their apartments.

The transformation at Parkview Villa is certainly an example of how Aeon is able to strengthen lives and communities. The preservation was made possible by support from the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, the City of Columbia Heights, the Columbia Heights Housing Redevelopment Association, the United States of Housing and Urban Development and US Bank.